Bertie and the Fog
by DonaldDouglasandToby6
Summary: Thomas and Bertie starting arguing. Matters get worse when Bertie's lamps go out and he has to get home on a foggy night.


One morning, Bertie was at Maithwaite waiting impatiently for Thomas.

"Bother, he's late again," he grumbled.

Caroline was in the parking lot waiting for her master, who was cross with the train service and was complaining to the stationmaster.

"I can see that." said Caroline gravely, "He must be held up at Elsbridge again."

"Again?! This is the third time this week!" fumed Bertie.

At last the panting of Thomas could be heard in the distance.

Thomas pulled into the station, exhausted.

"Sorry Bertie. I had to wait for George to get over the level crossing."

"Pah!" snorted Bertie as the passengers boarded him.

"What you need Thomas is a lesson in time!" and he drove away.

Annie and Clarabel were indignant.

"I say, that bus!" cried Annie.

"Yes, he is very rude indeed." agreed Clarabel.

"He's not so bad," puffed Thomas. "usually…"

Bertie drove along the road, feeling cross.

"That Thomas doesn't understand how important my job is." he said, "I'm late now!"

Bertie was fuming as he dropped off Mrs. Kyndley at her cottage.

At Hackenbeck, Terence was plowing a field as Bertie came to a stop.

"Hello there Bertie," called Terence.

Bertie sighed.

"Hi…"

"A bit chilly, isn't it?" Terence observed.

"I guess so…" Bertie mumbled.

"Farmer McColl says fog is on the way," continued Terence, "At least, according to the news."

Bertie couldn't reply as he had to drive away.

"Bye Bertie!" called Terence.

A couple hours later, Farmer McColl was proven correct; fog had gone over the Ffarquhar Branch Line and all the engines had to put their lamps on. Bertie meanwhile was at Toryeck.

"Your headlamp won't turn on," said his driver, concerned.

Bertie wasn't worried however.

"I can take care of a little fog. Besides, I can't let my passengers down."

"I guess so…" said his driver, sighing. Bertie honked his horn and drove away.

For the rest of the day, the lamp posts lighted the streets up for Bertie, so he wasn't worried.

He got to his destinations on time, but never spoke to Thomas.

But then the evening came and Bertie was to come home to Tidmouth Bus Depot.

"This is extremely dangerous," said the driver, "It's now so foggy and dark that we can't see any light."

Bertie looked ahead and saw nothing.

"Oh dear… Well, I'm sure we can get to Tidmouth."

"Are you sure?" asked his driver.

"Positive." said Bertie.

"Alright then…" and the driver turned on the motor.

Bertie drove away towards Tidmouth.

His driver drove slowly and carefully past Dryaw to find Thomas again.

"Bertie, what are you doing?" asked Thomas.

"Going home," grumbled Bertie.

"But Bertie, you need a headlight!" cried Thomas, but Bertie was already gone.

Bertie drove quietly along a lane that ran through a forest.

"Oh dear." murmured Bertie as he heard an owl hoot.

He turned left and then right, then left again.

"Where are we?" asked Bertie.

"I'm not sure," said his driver and he went to check on his GPS.

"Oh no, I ran out of battery!" he groaned.

"That's just great…" sighed Bertie, "Now what?"

Bertie kept driving left.

"I think we're going in circles," said Bertie worriedly.

"We are! There's the old pine tree!" cried the driver.

"Oh dear, oh, dear!"

Bertie was now hopelessly lost.

Suddenly they saw a black telephone lying on the road.

"Yes, we found hope!" cried Bertie's driver as he ran out and grabbed it.

"Are you sure that thing works?" cried Bertie confusingly.

"It does!" cheered Bertie's driver and he dialed a number.

At Farmer McColl's farm, Terence was plowing while George was flattening some hay for the cows.

"I wonder where Bertie is right now," wondered Terence.

George scoffed, "You're always worrying over that bus for nothing."

Terence sighed.

"I'm not so sure he's fine. It is mighty foggy out."

"Worry wheels," George teased.

Terence rolled his eyes when suddenly Jem Cole's cell phone buzzed in his pocket.

"Hold on a sec Terence," he said and he answered the phone.

"Yes? What is it? What the heck are you doing out there in this fog? Oh... Don't worry, Terence and I will come find you. Goodbye!" and Jem Cole hang up.

"Who was that?" asked Terence. "It was Bertie's driver." exclaimed Jem Cole.

"So Bertie is in trouble!" cried Terence.

"Whatever..." mumbled George.

"Lets go rescue him," said Terence and he drove onto the road.

"I'll phone Farmer McColl and tell him where we're going." said Jem Cole.

"No need to... I'll tell him." said George quietly.

"Thanks George!" and Terence set off on his mission.

Bertie stayed in his spot so Terence could find him.

"This is boring," he grumbled. His driver sighed.

"Bertie, we've got to stay here or else we may never be found."

Bertie gulped at the thought.

"Well... can you honk my horn so Terence can hear me? Perhaps he's close by."

"Perhaps," said the driver and he pressed the button.

Bertie's horn echoed through the forest.

Terence was at Elsbridge, trolling along the road.

The station was less busier than usual.

Thomas was dropping off a few passengers when he saw Terence.

"Terence, what are you doing out here?" Thomas asked worriedly.

"I'm trying to find Bertie." Terence explained.

"Let me guess, he got lost," said Thomas gravely.

"'Fraid so." said Terence.

"I think he deserved it," decided Annie.

"Yes, his cockiness got the better of him." agreed Clarabel.

"That's pretty harsh," cried Terence and he trundled on towards Bertie.

Terence soon came to the Maithwaite Forest.

"Oh boy, how the heck am I gonna find Bertie in this forest?!" cried Terence.

Suddenly they heard a horn.

It was short, but Terence knew who it belonged to.

"Bertie!" said Terence, "Lets go!"

"Not so fast," warned Jem Cole, "we don't want to suddenly topple over the edge of some cliff or something."

"There's no cliff in the forest, now come on!" urged Terence.

Jem Cole sighed as Terence chugged down the lane towards the source of the horn.

He looked around, still unsure as Jem Cole held up his flashlight.

Bertie suddenly saw a glimpse of red.

"I think I see him!" he said to Terence.

Terence grinned broadly as they trundled toward the source of the red color.

Bertie was a few meters ahead and noticed Terence's light shining on him.

"Terence! Oh, thank goodness!" he exclaimed happily as he saw the tractor come into view.

"Let's get you out of this fog." Terence said, "I have a lamp, so it's alright now."

Bertie grinned sheepishly as Terence tugged him out of the fog to get repairs.

At TIdmouth Bus Depot, the other buses were waiting.

"Where were you this whole time?" asked Bulgy stubbornly.

"I got lost," said Bertie timidly as some workmen came to mend his headlights.

"Well, be more careful," advised a bus, "Or else you'll be permenantly lost."

"I'll keep that in mind," Bertie said worriedly and he looked over to Terence.

"Thanks Terence for all of your help. I should've listened to you."

"Oh, that's alright. It wasn't your fault." advised Terence.

By the next day, the fog had cleared, and Bertie was mended.

At Ffarquhar, Thomas was taking his first train of the day when Bertie rolled up alongside.

Thomas looked away crossly, as did Annie and Clarabel.

Bertie sighed.

"I'm sorry Thomas for being so cross with you. Can you forgive me?" he asked hopefully.

Thomas looked over and smiled.

"I forgive you Bertie. It was wrong of me to ignore you like that."

Annie and Clarabel looked to each other curiously.

Bertie then laughed.

"Race you Hackenbeck, slowcoach!"

Thomas laughed and Thomas and Bertie raced once more.


End file.
